The LOOP
The Monday Loop - June 23, 2025
POPE LEO CALLS FOR PEACE AMID ESCALATIONS WITH IRAN
Amid escalations in the Middle East following a US military strike on Iranian territory, Pope Leo XIV delivered an urgent and impassioned call for peace Sunday, warning the international community against plunging further into a cycle of irreversible destruction. Without naming specific nations, Pope Leo said that "every member of the international community has a moral responsibility to stop the tragedy of war before it becomes an irreparable chasm.”
US JOINS ISRAEL IN BOMBING IRAN, TRUMP DEMANDS PEACE
After ordering strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, President Donald Trump said that “there will be tragedy for Iran, far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days" if the Middle Eastern nation retaliates. Trump had previously called for "unconditional surrender" after Israel initiated a still-ongoing war with Iran by striking it June 13.
TRUMP SIGNALS OPENNESS TO 'REGIME CHANGE' IN IRAN
“It’s not politically correct to use the term, ‘Regime Change,'” Trump wrote Sunday evening, “but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!” Trump's comment came hours after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US strikes on Iran were not "about regime change."
RUSSIA, CHINA CONDEMN US IRAN STRIKE
Russia and China have condemned the US bombing of Iran, with Russia warning Sunday that several nations are now ready to supply Tehran with nuclear weapons. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is traveling to Moscow to meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin to discuss countermeasures.
SECURITY GUARD SHOOTS, KILLS ACTIVE SHOOTER IN CHURCH
A security guard at Wayne, Michigan’s CrossPointe Community Church shot and killed an alleged active shooter Sunday morning. One innocent was shot in the leg during the incident, but no lives other than that of the alleged attacker were lost.
POPE LEO DRAWS ATTENTION TO PERSECUTED CHURCH
Pope Leo XIV on June 20 praised the religious of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual and the Order of the Most Holy Trinity and of the Captives for their closeness to people who lack religious freedom, saying their witness "will draw the attention of vocations, of the faithful, and of people of good will" to Christians who suffer.
APPEALS COURT BLOCKS LOUISIANA 10 COMMANDMENTS LAW
A federal appeals court on Friday ruled that a Louisiana law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in all public-school classrooms and state-funded universities in the state is unconstitutional. Louisiana Republican Attorney General Liz Murrill has said she would take the case to the Supreme Court if necessary.
RESCUE JUNE FROM PRIDE
People celebrate disturbing things throughout the month of June – loudly, immodestly, and, well, pridefully. Make a quiet stand against unruly pride by wearing a simple statement about the value of a humble heart. In addition to carrying an important message, these top-quality shirts feature 100% cotton for comfort and double-needle stitching for durability.
PRO-LIFER FIGHTS BACK AFTER COURT BLOCKS HIS MINISTRY
A pro-life advocate who has been sidewalk counseling outside abortion facilities in San Diego for 15 years is fighting for the right to practice free speech inside “buffer zones” after a district court dismissed his lawsuit.
CATHOLIC LAWMAKER CELEBRATES SUPREME COURT CASE
Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., last week praised the Supreme Court’s decision to hear a First Amendment-related case a pro-life pregnancy resource center brought against his state’s attorney general. Smith said the case will "help expose the discrimination" pro-life groups face "simply because of who they are and how they help women and their unborn children in a time of crisis."
HELPING BOYS LOVE SINCERITY
Alvaro de Vicente writes about three fundamental personal impediments to boys becoming men. In this Substack article, he focuses on insincerity. Boys may struggle with this more than you think, and they see it as a survival strategy more than a moral failing. Here’s how to understand it and what to do about it.
CATHOLIC 101
When a culture is sick, how can it be cured? If an entire people is possessed, how can they be freed? Is such a thing even possible at all? Dominican Br. Barnabas Wilson recommends you some Dostoevsky this summer to help answer these questions. Here’s the book he recommends and why.
SAINT OF THE DAY
Today, the Church remembers Blessed Basil Hopko, a Slovak cleric who was imprisoned and tortured by Communists for his faith. Despite severe suffering, he ministered to others until his death.
DAILY PSALM
"Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own." (Psalm 33:12)
DAILY READINGS
Today's Mass readings.
THE APOSTLE OF THE UPPER MIDWEST
On June 23, 1833, an eclectic crowd of Native Americans, Canadian trappers, and even Protestants flocked to a house in Sault Sainte Marie to hear a baby-faced man in black preach and offer Mass. The young man was Venerable Father Samuel Mazzuchelli, an Italian-born Dominican who received special permission to exchange his white habit for the familiar “black robe” still dear to many natives. Traveling across Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois, Mazzuchelli translated books, administered sacraments, built churches, and even designed the Iowa Old Capitol Building in Iowa City.